Separating, preparing, and treating biological cells suspended in a liquid sample solution onto a surface or substrate can be a non-trivial and critical step in a variety of applications including sample diagnostic procedures and cell imaging. A key challenge involves collecting biological cells suspended in solution onto a surface such that the cells may be easily treated and then quickly transferred to another surface for imaging or analysis. The health of cells suspended in a sample may also be important, therefore it may be advantage to limit cell disruption during sample transfer and collection. Mechanical forces applied to the cells must be gentle so as not to disrupt the cell structure or negatively impact cell health yet strong enough to manipulate the cells effectively. To maintain the health of cells and facilitate efficient preparation of liquid samples, devices and methods may be constructed that enable cells to be collected and treated onto a device and then removed from the device for transfer or adherence to another substrate for analysis.